Container and measuring device therefor



1942- l u. SULLIVAN ET AL 2,290,716

CONTAINER AND MEASURING DEVICE THEREFOR I Filed May 14, 1940 jigl.

w y 7 5-H 7 INVENTORS,-

DOROTHY SULLIVAN. Y DOR/S SULLIVAN.

ATTORNEK Patented July 21, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT DF F ICE CG NTAINER MEASURING DEVICE THEREFOR Dorothy Sullivan and Doris Sullivan, San Franciscm Calif.

Application May 14, 1940,--Serial No; 335,149

Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a container-and measuring device therefor, and its principal object is to provide in combination with a container, particularly intended for holding powdered material, such as baking soda,

the container, the front and rear walls of the 4 drawer serving as closures for the opening in the container wall in both advanced and retracted positions.

It is further proposed to provide in combination with a drawer of thecharacter described,

means for guiding the same, so that it will cling to the bottom of the container, and cannot be forced upward by any material which might crowd underneath the bottom of the drawer.

It is further proposed to provide a drawer of this type that will automatically 're-fill itself when it is retracted and will deliver a measured amount of material to the-outside of the container when advanced.

We further propose to provide a drawer from which one side wall is omitted to furnish a discharge edge for the drawer, while the margin of the opening in the container is utilized to level the material in the drawer on top and along the free side edge, so. that a perfectly 'regularblock of material corresponding exactly to the size of the drawer is delivered on each outward movement of the latter.

And finally it is the object of our invention, to provide a combination container and measuring dispenser which issimple in form, easy to operate, exact in measurement and economic in construction, the material being discharged from the drawer by a simple tilting movement of the container.

Further objects and advantages of our invention will appear as the specification proceeds,

and the novel features thereof will be'fully set forth in the claims hereto appended.

The preferred form of our invention is'illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows a front view-of a container, andour measuring device a central portion of the container being broken away;

a further small flange tracted position, the front Figure -2,-a' horizontal section taken along line '2-2 'ofFigure 1;

"Figure 3, a-section similar to that of Figure 2 with the drawer shown in advanced position;

Figure 4, a transverse section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5, a vertical section taken along line 5=-5 of Figure 3.

While we have shown only the preferred form of our invention, 'we' wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

-Inits preferred form, our invention comprises aconta-iner- I, which may be of any suitable form,

and whichis hereshown as being cylindrical,

*and a drawer 2, preferably arranged to slide throughan opening 3 in the wall 4 of the container and in immediate contact with the bottom 5 of the container.

The drawer may be of any suitable form, and is here shown as being rectangular, and as com- *prising a flat bottom 6, a front wall I, a rear wall 8 anda side wall 9 along one side edge of the drawer, the other side edge I!) of the bottom being left free to serve as a discharge edge.

Where a cylindrical container is used, the front wall of th drawer is preferably curved on the radius of the container, and formed with a panel H slightly ofi-set relative to an outer margin l2,--sothat thepanel'actually enters the opening in the container wall, and forms a continuation thereof when the flange I2 restsagainst the outer faceofthe container wall. This feature is important because-it serves to avoid leakage of material around the drawer when the latter is retracted into the container.

The container itself is preferably formed with an-inwardly turnedfiange [3, around the opening -for the same purpose of preventing leakage of material.

Since one side of the drawer is left open to furnish a discharge edge, we preferably provide l4 projecting rearwardly from the' rear wall-8 along the open side of the drawer to form a bearing face contacting the flange I3- when thedrawer is in advanced position, .as shown inFigure 3.

It will be noticed that inadvanced position, the rear 'wall 8 of the drawer forms a complete closure for the container opening, while in rewall forms a complete closure.

While the drawer moves fromretracted to ad'- vanced position, the top edge of the opening and the side edge confronting the discharge edge of the drawer serve to shave and level the material, which thus emerges from the container in the form of a solid block corresponding to the shape of the drawer, and may be readily discharged over the side edge H] by a slight tilting of the container.

The drawer is preferably made to correspond in size to suitable measurements commonly used in connection with the material dispensed, such as a teaspoonful or a tablespoon, or an ounce, or the like.

In order to hold the bottom of the drawer to the bottom of the container during the retracting movement and to provide against climbing of the drawer due to interposed material, we provide a flat guide member l5, which is an extension of the bottom of the drawer and has the full width of the latter, and a clip l6 attached to the bottom of the container and forming a slot ll therewith adapted to receive the guide member IS, the slot being co-extensive in width with the guide member. The rear end of the latter member is turned up to provide a flange 18 which contacts the clip l6 when the drawer reaches its most advanced position, and thus serves as a stop when the rear wall 8 of the drawer is in alinement with the container wall.

The operation of our invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description.

The drawer being normally in the bottom of the container will fill itself automatically, as long as there is a reasonable amount of material in the container. To remove a desired quantity, the operator grips the marginal flange [2, which is here shown as being flat, but which may be equipped with a rolled or beaded edge, if desired, and pulls out the drawer until the forward movement of the latter is checked by the stop l8, at which time the rear wall 8 forms a closure for the container.

During the forward movement excess material is shaved or levelled off by the edges of the container opening, and the material coming out with the drawer corresponds exactly to the measurement desired. The material may now be readily discharged over the side edge IU of the drawer by tilting the container.

After the drawer has been emptied, it may be pushed in and the panel of the front wall will furnish. an effective closure for the container opening. The guide member l causes the bottom of the drawer to remain in close contact with the bottom of the container, and the matev rial within the container will gravitate towards the drawer and automatically re-fill the same. The flange I3 is preferably formed to slightly incline toward the front so that it may be readily inserted by a sliding motion, the flange yielding While passing underneath the clip during the insertion. This construction allows our invention to be readily adapted to a pre-formed can.

We claim:

1, In combination, a container for powdered material or the like having a bottom and a side wall rising therefrom with an opening in said wall adjacent the bottom, a drawer having a sliding fit in said opening and having a bottom slidable on the container bottom, a front wall, a rear wall and a side wall, one edge of the drawer bottom being unobstructed to form a discharge edge, both the front and rear walls being adapted to form closures for the opening, the front wall when the drawer is in retracted position within the container, and the rear wall when the drawer is advanced to a position outside the container, means for guiding the drawer in contact with the container bottom when the drawer is advanced or retracted, the top edge of the opening and one side edge thereof serving to level the material with respect to the drawer when the latter is advanced, means for stopping the advance of the drawer when the back wall of the same is flush with the container wall, and means for stopping the retracting movement of the drawer when the front wall has reached a closing position with respect to the container opening, the front wall having a panel entering the container opening in retracted position so as to form a continuation of the container wall.

2. In combination, a container for powdered material or the like having a bottom and a side wall rising therefrom with an opening in said wall adjacent the bottom, a drawer having a sliding fit in said opening and having a bottom slidable on the container bottom, a front wall, a rear wall and a side wall, one edge of the drawer bottom being unobstructed to form a discharge edge, both the front and rear walls being adapted to form closures for the opening, the front wall when the drawer is in retracted position within the container, and the rear wall when the drawer is advanced to a position outside the container, a clip on the bottom of the container rearwardly of the retracted drawer forming a slot over the bottom of the container and an extension of the drawer bottom adapted to ride in the slot for guiding the drawer over the bottom of the container, the top edge of the opening and one side edge thereof serving to level the material with respect to the drawer when the latter is advanced, means for stopping the advance of the drawer when the back wall of the same is flush with the container wall and means for stopping the retracting movement of the drawer when the front wall has reached a closing position with respect to the container opening.

3. In combination, a container for powdered material or the like having a bottom and a sidewall rising therefrom, with an opening in said wall adjacent the bottom, and a drawer having a sliding fit in said opening and having a bottom slidable on the container bottom, and guide means for holding the drawer in contacting relation with the container bottom, said guide means comprising a horizontal rearward extension of the drawer bottom and a clip attached to the container bottom and forming a slot slidably'receiving said extension.

4. In combination, a container for powdered material, or the like, having a flat bottom and a side wall rising therefrom with a rectangular opening in said wall adjacent the bottom, a drawer having a sliding fit in said opening and having a flat bottom slidable on the container bottom and a front wall, a rear wall and a side wall rising at right angles from the bottom, one edge of the drawer bottom being unobstructed to form a discharge edge, and means for guiding the drawer in contact with the container bottom when the drawer is advanced or retracted, the top edge of the opening and one side edge thereof serving to level the material with respect to the drawer when the latter is advanced.

5. In combination, a container for powdered material or the like, having a flat bottom and a side wall rising therefrom with a rectangular opening in said wall adjacent the bottom, a drawer having a sliding fit in said opening, and having a fiat bottom slidable on the container bottom and a front wall, a rear wall and a side wall rising at right angles from the bottom, one edge of the drawer bottom being unobstructed to form a discharge edge, and means for guiding the drawer in contact with the container bottom when the drawer is advanced or retracted, the top edge of the opening and one side edge thereof serving to 6 the container wall.

DOROTHY SULLIVAN. DORIS SULLIVAN, 

